During the "Q&A" session there was no
microphone for the people asking questions. Some questions could not be
heard so those are represented with a question (?) mark.

*Transcriber's Note:Kate Mulgrew delivered her presentation with
great warmth, wit and energy. Both she and her husband, Tim Hagan,
appeared happy and relaxed. Many of the stories and anecdotes that
they related were told with tongue in cheek and a definite twinkle in the
eye. This transcript can only convey the words that they spoke – but cannot
begin to describe the humour, body language and animation that they showed
to the Orlando convention audience. Please keep this in mind as you read.
Thank you.*

Kate Mulgrew arrived on stage promptly at
3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 18th to a very welcoming crowd. She began
her talk by greeting a standing crowd and thanking convention operator
Joe Motes and his committee for inviting her to appear. She continued:

Kate Mulgrew: But mostly my thanks to
you all – for coming out, and what’s more, my congratulations. You
came! The holy month of Ramadan! Now, the last time I was in Orlando –
Joe just refreshed my memory – five or six years ago, with my two young
sons in attendance – as you can see I’m still recovering – I had them here
for eight days. I had a bit of a shocking and shall I say disheartening
surprise, when I got off the airplane in Orlando last night – to find it
almost empty. And to find it filled with a sense of meekness, and
I would say a certain sadness and certainly an emptiness. Now, I just want
to say this and then we’re going to get on to more interesting subjects.
This too shall pass. Everyone understands that, don’t they?
This is an extraordinary circumstance in the history of our country and
I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that they will defeat us if we
allow this fear to overwhelm us. And it will not defeat us!

Thanksgiving is coming up, and Christmas.
I want you all to pledge one thing to me. Get on an airplane. Go
out to dinner. Kiss a stranger! Live your lives, right!

(Addressing someone in the crowd) I don’t
need to run for office!

There’s a very wonderful man here, in the
first row here who is encouraging me to run for office. But I took
care of that. I married a politician.

Nooow…I had enough to do on Star Trek: Voyager.
Working seventeen to eighteen-hour days. Raising two charming adolescents.
And is if that wasn’t enough three years ago I said to myself, ‘why not
get married?’ And while I’m at it, why not marry a guy who lives in Cleveland?!
And now let’s make it really fascinating and let’s make sure he has not
one clue about what I do for a living! I married the county commissioner
of Cuyahoga County. Who said to me “Not only do I not know what you do,
not only do I not care, I am only looking forward to the day, my darling
wife, when we can be quietly together on my little farm in Olmstead Township
in Ohio. You’ll see the cattle grazing in the pasture. My daughters
will be flying through in their sweetness. Your sons can come and visit.
It will be lovely. It will be quiet. We’ll read, you’ll cook, right!?”
I said “It’s music to my ears after seven years of hard labour darling.
I can’t wait!” And what did he say? What did he say? Two weeks after
I went down. “Darling, I’m just going to have to run for governor
once.” He is running for governor of Ohio. There he is (points
to the left – off stage) my husband, Tim Hagan.

And do we have any people from Ohio in this
crowd? Come forward and be kissed!

How many of you are Democrats? (After
applause in response.) You’re not only kissed, you’re in my will!

All right. It’s been a very exciting
year for me. I cannot believe seven months have passed. And passed
they have. It’s over. It’s shockingly, brutally, abruptly, suddenly,
immediately – (addressing someone in the audience) she’s looking at me
– how long can this woman go on – over! And if you think that its
remnants are difficult you should have been there the final day. Let me
tell you how it really ended. Want to hear?

I’m sure you all have delusions of grandeur
about how it all ended. Flowers thrown at me! Handsome men flinging themselves
at me! And the CEO of Paramount telling me he couldn’t live without me!

No.

I worked for a week all by myself. As
you’ll recall, the last two shows were pretty much Janeway and Janeway.
So I had a lot of post production work to do. Blue screens, green
screens, all by myself. I did it. It was the last day and I swear
to God, the director said, “Cut, print, good.” The lights went out. Boom.
On the bridge. On the bridge, one by one the crew of about six that
were left came, embraced me “Thank you for a wonderful seven years. Thank
you.” And I turned, I heard a noise, I turned and somebody
was dismantling my chair. My chair. I said, “I don’t know you
very well, but stop it!”

Of course it ended on a grace note, as life
usually does – just let it. I stood there in the dark – I will admit
that I was on the verge of tears – it was profoundly upsetting for me to
be alone on that set - and I saw a silhouette in the doorway of the
briefing room, which abuts the bridge, and I know that silhouette very
well – it was my darling Bob Picardo, who was equally quiet and very still,
who had come by, all by himself having understood that I was going to be
alone. And he just walked over to me, put his arms around me.
We looked at each other, we both had tears in our eyes and I said, “Well
Baby, I guess that’s all she wrote.” …. Thank God for Bob Picardo.
And all the Bob Picardos of the world. It was a great time, ladies
and gentlemen. A wonderful time in my life. You can imagine, ladies
particularly, to be the first woman captain. Dare I say, the last??
They won’t go through that again!

They won’t go through those hair problems
again! That’s what really threw them. They hired a woman and
they went “My God, hair! For the first time in eight years!” Hair
and oh not just hair. Hair. And then Rick Berman said “My God, she has
bosoms! What are we going to do with this creature?” So after
a year of complete madness about my hair, and my tiny, very domesticated,
very normal bosoms, we got on with the show. Right.

Of course they were worried. What do
you suspect they were most worried about? Makes great sense
to me. They were worried about losing their strongest demographic.
Which is – in this great nation of ours – those young, strong, handsome,
healthy boys. From fifteen to thirty. Pretending to look at science
fiction, but licking their little chops. So I understood it philosophically,
the problem was here’s a woman sitting in the captain’s seat, who could
conceivably be the mother of those boys. How does one overcome this?
I simply seduced them in my own inimitable fashion. I said to myself “If
you let me captain the damned ship they will follow! Get your hands off
my hair! Stop giving me a bra that looks like a Shraler. Let’s
get down to work and they will come!” And come they did. Of
course they really came when Seven of Nine arrived! (there was a lot of
noise – applause and booing) But you see… bad bad bad!

I had the time of my life. Fundamentally because
I was a thirty-nine year old actress who encountered, after a twenty seven
year career, a character that she would love deeply. And whom I will love
until I die. It just doesn’t happen. It happens to older women in
Hollywood. As we age, we become less and less and less sought after
and the roles become more and more and more sort of superficial and ridiculous.
And I struck gold.

What did you say (addressing someone in the
audience)?

“I said they’re fools.” (a woman in the audience
replied)

They’re fools. That’s a woman who’s speaking….!

Now clearly they’re not fools. They
gave me the role. They gave me seven years to play it. But what they
couldn’t have known at the time and I didn’t either, quite frankly, knowing
as little as I did about science fiction – I knew zero about Star Trek
when I came in. Zero. And it stood me in good stead.
Had I been too familiar, can you imagine that audition? (Kate assumed
a British accent here) “Red Alert. We shall go into warp, after I’ve
had my tea.” No, I had no idea. So I went in and I just endowed
her with Mulgrew, and obviously it was satisfactory. In spite of the fact
that they were very nervous. Because you know what happened to my
predecessor do you not? What a darling little girl right here (Kate looked
into the audience). Somebody else got the role. Her name was
Genevieve Bujold. You’re familiar with this story are you not?
She was a French Canadian actress of superb talent. I mean that.
Great depth, great quality. What a marvelous film actress she was.
It simply was not her cup of tea, and she knew it in one day. And had the
integrity and the guts to say to them (Kate assumes a French accent) “I
don’t think this is going to work out for me. Merci beaucoup, au revoir!”
And I went back in with four other actresses whom they’d all seen before
and they do this awful and appalling knock down drag out thing in Hollywood,
where you keep going in, one actress after the other, again and again and
again, scene after scene after scene and one by one we are dismissed.
Well, to make a very long story short, and I’ve told it before. Without
sounding redundant, I got the job. When I got the job, by the way
I really needed this job, and wanted this job, I said to myself, I’m going
to give her everything I have. This was a silent pledge, which I regretted!
But I did it. Not one day – I think my husband can attest to this
– my husband the very tired politician – came with me every morning for
two and a half years. Four o’clock in the morning. Stayed with
me till ten, eleven o’clock at night. You wonder why I married this poor
guy. And said to me, after a couple of weeks “I had no idea. I had no idea.”
I said “Why don’t you tell me what you thought? No big deal, you
know. You’re a politician. You guys know everything. Right?
Sure you do! You can give us every statistic – you can tell us everything
that everybody is feeling.” He said “I thought you were eating bonbons!
On a chaise lounge. For a couple of hours a week. And you were getting
paid eight million dollars to do it.” He’d never seen anything like it.
And in fact to be perfectly honest, after thirty years in this business,
I will tell you that nothing paralleled the work on Voyager. That was work.
That was hard work It’s highly stylized as you know. This is
not ER, is it? Where you’re running around in your hospital greens,
throwing gurneys and bloody bodies all over the place. This is very
ritualized. The language has to be honoured. And if you make
a mistake, an error, one error – Tim has seen this – in a five-page scene
in my ready room, whether it’s me or the other guy – and usually it was
the other guy! One error - grammatical or otherwise, you reshot the
entire scene. I used to be so pale… on Monday morning when my boys would
come in. I’d walk onto that bridge because I knew. Bridge day – Monday.
Bridge day, all day Monday, all day Tuesday. Who runs the bridge,
ladies and gentlemen?

Audience: “The captain.”

How can I not run the bridge? If I do not
have my men, right? So I’m hoping they had a good weekend. I’m hoping
they had a little rest. A little visit with their wives, as …(…).
And I’m hoping they’re ready for two days of really good work. But
what do you think generally greets me on that Monday morning? Garrett Wang
is not married, is he? No! And Garrett Wang will never beeee married! Garrett
Wang does not spend his Saturday night having a little nap and reading
an interesting best seller, does he? Garrett goes to the casino on
Saturday night! So on Monday morning, I would say “Good morning chaps,
and how are we?” And this is what it looked like, ladies and gentlemen!
(Kate threw her head back and imitated a snore, ed.) “Huh… what’s the episode?
What’s the day?”

Seven years. They were the best.
They were the best! They were also the naughtiest. You’re looking
at me and I’m sure you’re saying she’s – I’m sure she demanded respect
from those men. I’m sure she commanded. I’m sure there wasn’t a moment’s
nonsense or naughtiness on that soundstage with those marvelous men. Supporting
her. Encouraging her to do her best. Encouraging themselves to meet
those challenges. Wrong. At every opportunity, they tried to bring
me down! Every single opportunity. And the longer the week was and
dragged on, and the longer they were separated from their – dare I say
– women, the more perilous it became for me. I was spit balled. I was mooned.
I was everything, wasn’t I honey? I should be canonized after those seven
years!

They were great guys. Unprecedented
laughter in my life. Robbie McNeill was responsible for a lot of that.
John Ethan Phillips the best person who ever lived. And the funniest.
And the kindest. And the deepest. Unfortunately for him his mask
also, I think masked the extraordinary magnitude of his talent. We
are talking about a one in a million guy, Johnny. I always told him he
was the soul of the show.

Bob Picardo – a consummate actor. Always
there. Always ready. As talented as he was kind and as kind as he
was ready and just a very special person.

Roxann Dawson. Multi-talented. A wonderful
actress. And who knew? This superb director. Same goes for
McNeill.

Ah… Tim Russ is an interesting … hmmmm … person
to discuss! I know more about his anatomy than I do …. It was disgusting.
It was disgusting! And they had no shame! Right? I said to him “If
you do that to me again, if you dare to do that to me again you are dead.
Do you understand English?” (Kate deepens her voice to imitate Tim Russ)
“Whoa… Capitaine… whoa… I’m scared… shakin’ in my boots, baby.” I said,
“Don’t screw around with me!” Action. Two o’clock in
the morning. Let’s get this thing over with. I gotta get home. I’ve
got kids. I’ve got a life! And I gotta get two minutes of sleep.
Action! Phffft! I said, “Did you do that again?” He did it again! He did
it again. And the last time he did it – (Kate looks into the audience)
You’re laughing? You’re about fifteen years old and you think this
is very funny, don’t you? You - wearing the plaid shirt! Yeah – what
is it about young boys? What is so amusing about a forty-year-old woman
being spit balled to death? Oh… but it doesn’t end there! I said “I hope
you’ve enjoyed yourself – what is it again? Tim? You have? I hope
you’ve enjoyed yourself because you are A Dead Man!” “Ah”…he said,
“Hey… I’m so scared I don’t know how I’m going to drive home tonight! Whooo
I’m so scared… good night honey!” I said to the wardrobe guy, “Sam
come over here. Sam, did you see that man just leave the soundstage? What
is his name?” “Kate, you’re hilarious. That’s Tim Russ.” “Uh huh.
And who is he?” “He’s the tactical officer.” “And who is the captain, Sam?”
“Well you are.” “So regarding seniority around here, who would be
more important to you as to your own position?” “Oh, you would be.” “Those
are very very sage words. Now come with me if you value your life, and
I’m sure you do, you will do the following. Go into Tim Russ’s trailer,
get his car keys, get his wallet, remove his pants, his underpants, his
shirt, one sock and one shoe. Leave him one sock and one shoe. Deliver
them to me ASAP, and you and I will have a very happy time together.”
He brought them into my trailer. The guy had no keys. I had them.
I got in my car and I went hooommme! Monday morning came. I’m in the makeup
trailer, it’s five thirty a.m. In comes Mr. T. right? I spent all weekend
relishing my friend groveling on his knees, he’ll never do it again. “Good
morning Capitaine, how are you, Babe?” What is going on? How did
he get home? More importantly, why is he in such a great mood? Then I went
to my own trailer. And I unlocked the door. I entered my own trailer.
On every bare space of wall, on every cabinet, on every corner of my couch
there was a photograph of a certain part of Mr. Tim Russ’s anatomy! This
is the difference between a woman who is trying to raise two sons and a
man who has no children! Not only did he photograph that part of his anatomy,
not only did the very man who I ordered to go and get the keys to rob the
clothes take those photographs, but he had each of them labeled. Ie, “You’ll
be kissin’ this for the next five years!” That’s the respect I got on Voyager.
Actually I adored them all. And loved every minute of the seven years.

Not every minute. Sometimes it was tough.
Sometimes it was very tough. Certainly regarding the children. How many
of you women are working women? Look at those hands. You understand
what I’m talking about, don’t you? It’s irreconcilable I’m afraid. I wish
I had words of wisdom for you. I don’t know how to tell you how to
do them both well. I’m not sure it’s possible. You just have
to do what you have to do. And while you’re doing what you’re doing might
try your best … So when I was present to Janeway I was present to Janeway,
and when I was a mother I was – taking tranquilizers!

I’ve had wonderful privileges; I’ve had opportunities
that certainly would not have availed themselves to me under any other
circumstances. I have learned more about science and physics than
I ever dreamed I would. It really… it nurtured in me a great curiosity
about science. And most importantly, and I think, most profoundly
from my point of view, I believe if this mail is correct, and if the feedback
that I’m getting is accurate, that I have made a difference in certain
lives of young women particularly. Women who heretofore had not thought
that the doors of science could be open to them in this way. Who have I
think discovered in themselves a new kind of courage, and possibilities,
simply by looking at somebody like Kathryn Janeway on television. Now if
this is true, and I’m going to cherish the thought that it is, I can think
of no finer way to have spent seven years of one’s life. Can you?

Now I would love to have some questions from
you. If you have questions. Yes?

Q. Which cast member had the most trouble
with their lines?

KM: I love these intellectually provocative
questions! Which cast member had the most trouble with their lines! Well
let’s see. Ahh… You know, when Robert Beltran wanted to do it he did it
like nobody’s business. When he didn’t want to do it – he didn’t do it.
Right. It’s about the lines okay… and lines have never been anybody’s great
salvation by the way – what’s your name? Robin. You know one’s ability
to learn one’s lines is never a (?) rule for acting. But in these
rigorous circumstances it certainly meant – it was an act of courtesy and
professionalism. You know. So after a while, indeed that could become very
tough. For me particularly. Particularly as I said, on the bridge.
If you ever noticed, Janeway doesn’t stop on the bridge. I wasn’t a sitter
as a captain, I was a mover. Well that’s one shot we’re talking about,
ladies and gentlemen. That’s one very, very difficult shot. They
set up for sometimes an hour, an hour and a half. The camera’s following
me. If one person screws up the line, the shot falls apart. So it’s very
important that these lines be learned, especially if they’re lines as difficult
as “Aye, Captain.” Right.Yes sir – you with the hat.

Q: I was searching on the internet the other
night, on the Internet Movie Data Base. They had you listed under the credits
of Star Trek X. I was wondering if you would care to speak about
maybe what your role in that movie is.

KM: He knows my agent better than I do! Is
that what it is? Star Trek X? I seriously do not know. The one they’re
doing right now? Yes. I’m going to do that movie. Don’t get
overly excited you know. They make a big deal out of nothing.
I saw Patrick Stewart in England – we were on the stage together for one
second. I said “How are you Patrick, what’s up?” (in a sing song
voice) “I know something you don’t know!” It’s a small part, but it is
an actress’ delight – or shall I say it’s Janeway’s delight because I’m
ordering Picard all over the place. (to applause) Thank you. I like
Patrick Stewart very much. I’m just a little bit jealous of him.
I’m not jealous of him because of his great notoriety not to mention his
extraordinary talent. What do you think I’m really jealous about?

Audience: “No hair!”

KM: Yes?

Q: What was it like being immortalized in
plastic?

KM: What was it like being immortalized
in plastic. Well you’d have to ask my husband! What does that mean, being
immortalized in plastic those little action figures? You know I went
to the licensing department when I first saw that thing. That’s the scariest
little thing. I said “This is your idea of a role model? I wouldn’t
want to meet this thing in an alley if my life depended on it!” Wild.
Maybe if they gave me little curves, right… nothing! Yes madam?

Q: Not a question but a statement. I’ve watched
you for a while and you’re more beautiful today than ever.

KM: Did you hear what she said?

Audience: “No!”

KM: Well then I feel that I must repeat
it! She said that she has watched me grow up and that she feels that I
am more beautiful today than ever.

Q: ?

KM: That’s a very good question.
Who did I look up to as a role model when I was young. I would have
to say – this is sounding a little cliché – my own mother.
My own mother – who has Alzheimer’s. And was diagnosed two years ago.
With me, by me as a matter of fact. Which is the greatest sorrow, probably,
of my life. Not that she has Alzheimer’s – I think that we all have to
suffer – or some of us do, some of us don’t. It certainly seems to be with
nature sometimes. I’m not begrudging that. But her fantastic
brain, her extraordinary vitality, this unorthodox, unconventional, wildly
creative, terribly funny deeply tempered woman is gone. And that is a great
heartache for me. But she was my role model. And my acting teacher,
Stella Adler who was my mentor.

Q: Hi Kate. I’m from England, and I just want
to thank you for all the hard work that you did while you were over there.
You were great.

KM: Thank you. Did you come?

Q: Yes I did.

KM: Look at her! She came from England!
Thank you!

Q: I have a question as well. If you could
create a role for yourself – if you could write a role for yourself, what
would it be?

KM: A very interesting question.
She’s asking me if I could create a role for myself – if I could write
a role for myself, what would it be. Well, as the happenstance and serendipity
of life would have it, I’m going to play that role. I’m doing the
life of Katharine Hepburn. It’s very daunting. It was written for
me – exclusively for me, by a wonderful young guy whose name is Matthew
Lombardo. We go into rehearsal on the seventh of January. And it is called
“Tea at Five”. We’re opening at the Hartford Stage in Hartford Connecticut.
And in act one, I am Katharine Hepburn at the age of 31, and in act two,
I am 76. And this is no vanity piece, ladies and gentlemen. This
is not “Oh my God look at the moon” (Kate did an imitation of Hepburn).
It is a real investigation of what formed this woman. What defined this
woman. She had a most complicated life. You should know that.
It’s very very interesting. Come to see it, but later, later.

Yes darling in the back. Young boy.
Loud and clear honey!

Q: What other shows have you done?

KM: That was loud and clear! Honey
I’ve done a lot of stuff. I’ve been an actress for so long. I became
a professional actress when I was eighteen. How old are you? Ten?!
Really is that the mystery of life? Ten! And I’ve got another ninety to
throw away! I’ve done a lot of stuff sweetie, but you probably would know
me best as the voice of the bad lady on Batman. The cartoon.

Q: I watched Ryan’s Hope. I wanted to know
why did you leave the show.

KM: I can tell you why. I loved Ryan’s
Hope. I made two of the greatest friends of my life on that show.
Claire Labine who wrote it and produced it is very dear to my heart.
And my very best friend Nancy Addison played Jill Coleridge and is still
my closest friend. She’s very sick now, by the way. But I was
so young. I was nineteen. I – you know that soap opera, as fun as
they can be and as marvelous certainly as Ryan’s Hope was, and there was
nothing like it on the air – there’s been nothing like it since, I don’t
think, has there been? And Mary Ryan was a terrific part. But I was
burning up, honey, to be on stage. I was just burning. So I exhausted my
interest in the soap opera format very quickly, after about six months.
And I honoured the contract to a year. And then I went to ABC and
I just begged them on my knees. I said “I’m just unhappy. They
want me in Othello, and I have go and play Desdemona and I have to go and
play it now. Because if I play when I’m fifty, I’d rather be dead.” I played
it another six months and then I went. And then I think they made a mistake.
They replaced me, didn’t they? Yes, they shouldn’t have. And
then they killed her. I’m proud of one thing about Mary Ryan, aside from
the fact that she was a great character. I am the only actress in the history
of daytime television, to have slept with only one man. My husband!
Yes darling?

Q: What’s your most embarrassing moment?

KM: She’s sitting on your knee honey?
The most gorgeous little child is sitting on my husband’s knee! One would
think she would ask me a question so thoughtful one could hardly stand
it. No. What is it? What’s the most embarrassing thing that ever
happened?! On Voyager you mean? Where did she go? On Voyager, or
just in life? Oh, don’t be so cruel, honey!

Q: Voyager. I asked the same question
of Robert Duncan McNeill.

KM: Embarrassing. Embarrassing.
You asked the same question to Robbie McNeill. What did Lieutenant
Paris have to say? What did he say?

Q: When his uniform caught on fire.

KM: When his uniform caught on fire? You mean
when a certain part of his uniform caught on fire. Oh. I would have
to say my most embarrassing moment on Voyager is indeed associated with
Mr. Robert Duncan McNeill. As everybody always said “How come you
didn’t have any sex, how come you didn’t have a personal life? What
was wrong with your needs, weren’t you human?” I say stop stop! Did
I or did I not copulate with Lieutenant Paris and we had many little lizards
together! Nothing embarrasses you when you get to be my age honey.
Yes?

Q: I just started college and we’re studying
visualization and positive thinking. When you encounter a barrier
or you find something difficult … do you have any advice … like what do
you do yourself when you’re faced with difficulties.

KM: As an actress or as a human being?

Q: Both, if you can.

KM: Oh no, one or the other. What do I do
when I hit a really tough spot. When I can’t get out of it. You’re
talking about a wall, aren’t you? Well you’re talking about visualization.
How do you visualize yourself out of it? Are you Catholic? I’m a
little bit like Janeway this way myself. You just punch your way through.
Sometimes you just gotta punch your way through. Through most of those
bad things you do. And have the courage of your own convictions. You know.
Don’t you think everybody in this room shares the same thing. We
all have it. Yes?

Q: (Two people spoke at the same time)

KM: Wait, wait wait a minute! Who is
speaking over here? All right, I’ll come right back to you. Yes darling,
what are you saying?

Q: What were some of the funnier parts of
being on Voyager?

KM: I got ya! What were some of
the funnier moments on Voyager that I remember as being funny. Right? I
suppose some of the really funny ones I don’t remember as being too funny.
Funny…. Was not anything that happened to me – it’s just the other guys
making me laugh. Yes. Madam.

Q: I’m a working Mom also, and I wanted to
know have your sons expressed either favouritism or support or jealousy
of your career.

KM: (takes a sip of water) (laughing) This
should be vodka. She’s a working mother also. She wants to
know if my sons expressed any resentment, jealousy, problems, right?

Q: Or support.

KM: Or support.

Q: How do they feel about your working
– being so dedicated to your career.

KM: They haven’t liked it. They
liked it before Voyager. I think there’s something about the notoriety
that this has given me, something about its very public aspect. But I will
be very very frank with you. It’s the hours. Don’t forget, they were nine
and ten. They were just kids. Very few mothers leave for sixteen, seventeen
hours a day. It’s almost impossible to explain that to a kid. Now, they’re
not dumb. What are they going to target, what are they going to blame?
The job. So I did my best. But there was a great deal of resentment, particularly
from my oldest son. They were so used to me being there. And used to me
being very hands on and then suddenly this happened, which is so
difficult to bridge. And I must say that I felt tremendous guilt
about it myself. Had I had a different, sort of cavalier, or not cavalier
but less guilty response perhaps it would have been better, but in the
end I’m afraid they did resent it. You can understand that, can’t you?
But I think they will grow out of that. Won’t they?Yes?

Q: Do think when they introduced Seven of
Nine to the show, umm, the whole relationship they created with her and
Janeway, do you feel it sort of interfered with Janeway's relationships
like with the Doctor or Belanna?

KM: What's your name?

Q: Heather.

KM: Heather. How old are you?

Q: Just turned 18.

KM: You're pretty. Umm, she wants to know...my
husband's going- (laughter from the audience--Kate mimcs Tim shaking her
head). She wants to know if when they brought Seven of Nine on the show,
if I felt that that, uh, relationship between Seven of Nine and Janeway
interfered or usurped the other relationships with the other senior staff.
Right? Absolutely I felt that way. However, you know, the numbers went
up. And it's a numbers game baby. Do you know that? But of course I felt
it and I felt it profoundly. It's an ensemble show. That's what makes it
such a good one, right. You're looking at all nine of these people struggling.
You want to see what their interpersonal relationships are like.
You want to see them evolve. It's very hard when that stops and a great
deal of concentration was given to one and not to the others. But I understood
from a business point of view what they were about. And it settled down,
I think, in the last two seasons.

Q: In Unimatrix Zero Part One what was
it like to get dressed up in Borg garb?

KM: Easy! Getting dressed up like a Borg.
Easy! No problem.

Q: Was it hot, heavy?

KM: It’s hot! It’s heavy! It was strange.
But I mean that’s what we do. We’re actors right? If I wanted to
get dressed up like this every day I’d have been a bank teller. But I wanted
to get dressed up like a Borg!

Q: ?

KM: I’m just listening to that child’s
laugh. Sometimes a child’s laughter is so infectious. I’m sorry.
Go on…

Q: It felt like the very last episode of Voyager
that they kind of left it. Did you feel there should have been a little
more?

KM: No because I’ve been asked this
before and it’s upsetting to me because I had so much to do with the last
episode. I’ve heard this now several times - I wish I’d thought that
through a bit more, but you know, we didn’t have enough time to think it
all the way through. He’s telling me that he feels that Endgame was
rushed. It wasn’t fully fleshed out in the last hour or tied up.
But we had so little time. And we had to really take a gamble. And
the gamble was which story in the end was truer to the arc of Voyager.
Which legacy did we want to leave? That Admiral Janeway would kamikaze
for Captain Janeway to save this ship and this crew, or that you know,
get Seven of Nine and Commander Chakotay all figured out. B’Elanna.
We had to skip it. And finally at the end on the bridge, we had to make
that editorial cut that quick because otherwise there would have been flashbacks
and it would have gone on. You wouldn’t have had any of that stuff with
the Borg Queen which I thought was absolutely essential to the success
of it. You know. I’m sorry. I’m responsible because I
was really, I was really behind Endgame Parts one and two. Yes, young man
in the back? In the science uniform.

Q: In real life do you like your coffee black?

KM: Look out politicians of the world! In
real life, do I like how people act? What did he say?

Audience: No… no!!!

KM: Do I like my coffee black!? No!
I like it with cream! Now you sir, you.

Q: What’s your favourite episode?

KM: Impossible to answer that. Seven
years. I could give you four or five right off the top of my head
that I loved doing. Every single one with that madman John DeLancie. Who
is a very dear personal friend of mine. “Deathwish” I loved. “Counterpoint”.
I loved the Arachnia thing. So much fun. So much laughter. So absurd.
I would say I liked eight out of ten of them. And six out of ten I adored.
Only a few times did I think that they were lazy. The writers, I’m talking
about, and all to save a couple bucks. Those two parters, or anything involving
alien species or new technology, we’re talking about a lot of dough. A
million, a million and a half, sometimes two. So in order to cut their
expenses, they do what they call a bottle show, which is a ship show, and
they’d make it a very small story, very containable, within the confines
of the ship. And sometimes those could be a little bit off but generally
speaking they were very good.

Q: What is your opinion about space
exploration and do you believe in life other than being on earth.

KM: That’s a good question. A very good question.
How do I feel about space exploration and do I believe in life beyond the
planet. Is that your question?

Q: Yes.

KM: Who am I, in answer to the latter and
as to the former, most resoundingly, I support it. And that’s why, I get
reeeallly pissed off when idiots like Osama bin Laden screw up, right,
what was going on in this nation, at one of its most economically, socio-economically
in its entire history. But we will come back to this. We hope that space
investigation will be restored, and indeed, I believe that wholeheartedly.
And as for is there life beyond I think there must be. (Addressing
Tim Hagan) Honey I know, we talked about this – go back to sleep.
I just can’t imagine given the magnitude of it all, that there is not.
And given what we’re learning. Water on Mars, who knows, right? But
we won’t know, until we get NASA back in the water, and we won’t get back
in the water until that damn nation straightens itself out and gets about
it’s business, which it will. If we all go out to dinner! Dance in
the streets, get on the planes… Yes?

Q: ?

KM: I’m sorry, what did she? I
didn’t understand you honey.

Q: What are your favorite memories of Voyager?

KM: What are my favourite memories?
She tossed it to a child who is younger than she! My favourite memories
are those of camaraderie with my friends, honey. My favourite memories
are not in the shooting, my favourite memories are the intimate moments
that I shared with ten strangers, whom I had never met before, and who
found themselves at home in my heart forever. And those are the moments
that I hope that you have in your life. They are the only ones you keep
darling. Yes, Madam in the red.

Q: (commented that Janeway never spoke to
her mother – re the letters from home)

KM: You hope I got to talk to my mother?
No, because I’m sure, if that you’re a fan of Janeway’s you’ll know that
her entire back-story particularly the audio tape is her relationship with
her father. So they threw that in rather late in the day and as a result
they did not flesh it out, and if you will recall, what they did do – Janeway
did get a letter, didn’t she. She got a “Dear John” letter. Yah,
what was that about? She sacrificed everything, seven years.
Never had a kiss, never had a hug. First letter she gets, yeah. Too bad,
see you later. Yes sir?

Q: Are we going to see more of the Voyager
franchise? What happens to those people now that they’re home?

KM: I don’t know. Will it go to movies?
I can assure you of one thing. If they stand to profit a buck fifty
by another movie they will do it. And they couldn’t use a better group
than the Voyager group. I mean I think it’s wonderful The Next Generation
has had such unprecedented success in motion pictures, but enough is enough.
Share and share alike as they say! Yes? You.

Q: ?

KM: What about the sock incident? What
was my take on the sock incident?

Q: ?

KM: You see, it’s always disgusting!
Men between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five cannot be anything less
than, when they ask a question of that nature, disgusting! What was my
take on the sock incident? No ladies, no. Robert Beltran wasn’t darning
a sock. No, somebody wasn’t putting one on. Someone was stuffing one in!
Do you know what I’m saying? Not one, five socks! And that person
was getting off the turbo-lift. And turning to greet me. This is what I
endured! Who was that? Tuvok, sock stuffing that day. Was it Mr. Russ?
And he always told me he didn’t need to stuff!

At this point someone requested that Tim Hagan
come up on stage, which he did.

KM: Honey come on! I would like you
to meet my husband. Do any of you have any questions for my darling husband?

Audience: How did you meet?

KM: How did we meet. You tell them.
He does this better than I do. No, you go.

Tim Hagan: We met in Ireland. Shall
I tell the whole story or half the story?

Audience: Whole!

TH: We met in Ireland prior to her taking
this - getting this great role that she has and having such wonderful fans.
We met in Trallee, you know where Trallee is? How many know – have
been to Ireland? We met in Trallee and then we went to Dingle. Let me tell
you how we met. I knew her mother, who she talks about with such warmth.
Her mother is a wonderful human being, just so wonderful and has been my
friend prior to meeting Kate. Her mother had eight children, my mother
had fourteen. Good Catholics I guess. They used the birth control
pills as bingo markers. Anyhow she kept saying “Tim you’ve got to meet
my daughter Kate” and I have to tell you I didn’t know about “Ryan’s Hope”
or anything else. Kind of a nitwit. So anyhow I said okay finally, so we
went to Ireland, I went to Ireland, I said “I’ve got to meet Joan’s daughter,
and okay I’ve got to do this, I love Joan, she’s been my friend.”
We said we’d meet in a bar, and that’s something unique! Two Irish people
meet in a bar. Anyhow the damn bar was closed at eleven o’clock in
the morning on Saturday. Unbelievable for Ireland. So I was sitting
in the hotel lobby, and in walked this woman who I was going to meet in
the bar. I’d never seen her, walking over to the bar. I looked, and I said
“Kate?” She turned around and looked at me and I said “There is a
God.” So in any event, I fell absolutely in love with her, and she
was - she’ll have to do this for you one day – you know as crazy as I am
I started asking her “Well do some imitations. Can you do Marlon Brando?”
And she’d do anything for a laugh. So we fell in love that weekend. And
her two boys were with her, and we had this unbelievable romance. But she
got this role, in California, and I was an elected official in Cleveland.
And I said “What the hell am I going to do in California? I can’t go back
and forth.” (There was much laughter here as throughout his talk
Kate was making faces, gestures and silent comments behind him) (To Kate:)
Dammit, you’re not the Captain when I’m around! (much more laughter) So,
she got the role – I don’t know how she’s interpreting behind me, but anyhow
– it couldn’t work. She got the role, I was in Cleveland, I had my
responsibilities and she had hers and so it ended. (prodding from Kate
to explain) So it ended. (more prodding from Kate to explain) Dammit
it ended.

KM: How did it end?

TH: It ended in a very strange difficult
sad way.

KM: How?

TH: Do we have to go through that?

Audience member: Did you dump her?

TH: I didn’t jump her. Ma’am you’re
way out of line! It ended really sadly because she got the role and I had
to take her…I’ll explain that. Five years later, her mother called.
I must tell you this story, it’s kind of funny. Her mother called
a Tim Hagan in Akron Ohio who was a doctor, and I’m in Cleveland Ohio.
She talked to him for twenty minutes. How are you doing Tim, are you married
– no – and the guy finally said to her “You must mean the Tim Hagan up
in Cleveland. I’m in Akron, Ohio.” “Oh, okay.” She hung up. Called me.
That’s why I love her mother. This is true, she carried on a conversation
for twenty minutes, didn’t know who the hell she was talking to. She called
me and said “Why don’t you give Kate a call.” “Oh no, that ended sadly.”
And I was happy to sustain my relationship obviously, with my long-standing
friendship with her mother. “Give her a call.” “Oh okay. I’ll call.”
For some of us in this room, who don’t have a lot of money, I was an elected
official, hadn’t stolen anything yet! Anyway, I called her and she was
her captain self. “Yes.” “Kate how are you?” “Fine.” “But I’d like to see
you, I haven’t seen you…” “Yes.” “Well when can I see …” “Friday.” This
was Monday. Now I know everybody in this room ordered their tickets
way in advance. If you flew, some of you didn’t fly, but ones who
flew, you obviously ordered your tickets in advance to save money. Right.
But the situation I was in… Well here’s the deal “You can see me
on Friday.” “This is Monday. Where would you like to…” “The
Bel Aire Hotel.” The Bel Aire hotel. I mean I stay at the Holiday
Inn. And there’s the flight you know. You only have five days to
make the arrangements. I think to myself “How the hell am I going to pay
for this?” So it’s Monday. Of course I had the fond memory of those moments
five years earlier. So I went out to my secretary - went out to my
secretary, I said to my secretary “Nancy get me a flight to L.A. on Friday
and get me a room at the Bel Aire Hotel.” She immediately looked
up and said “Did somebody die?” knowing I would never act this way.
Anyhow, eighteen hundred dollars later - air fare - we met again. (Kate
in the background “was it not worth it”) And I was sitting, coincidently
in the bar – I sound like I’m a drunk, don’t I?! In the Bel Aire
Hotel, and in she walked again and … as somebody said “There she is again,
there is a God.” And from that moment on, we’ve been together. (much applause
from audience) And she only makes me call her Captain about ten or twelve
times a night! (hoots & hollers from audience) I make her dress up
in that outfit! Now you know it’s good but when you get to this age….

KM: Who believes that story the way he told
it? Yes sweetheart. I can see you have a question for my darling
husband, don’t you? Do you have a question for me, my husband?
Me. Yes?

Q: ?

KM: Yah, and everything thing else. Don’t
you think. I always thought my family was so big, one of eight. But
no, I married one of fourteen. I used to enjoy dinner parties. It’s unbelievable!
How many of the immediate family, honey? Eight hundred and fifty
two? Yes sir?

Q: Have you had a chance to see the
new series “Enterprise” and what is your opinion of it?

KM: I have not had a chance to see the
new series “Enterprise”. I understand it’s very good. Scott Bakula
is a terrific actor. But more important about Scott Bakula though, which
you should all know, is that he has a marvelous reputation. Are you
aware of that? For his kindness, his professionalism and his generosity.
All his years as an actor. So that’s what counts to me. Yes darling?

Q: What is your favourite film star
to work with?

KM: Who is my favourite film star to
work with. Of my senior staff, or of anybody else?

Q: Doesn’t matter

KM: Doesn’t matter. Hmmmm… Oh honey,
how could I possibly… I just said I love John DeLancie, love Bob
Picardo, love John Ethan Phillips, love Robbie McNeill, love them all.
Yes ma’am.

Q: I’ll try to find a new way to aks
and old, tired questions. The attraction between Janeway and Chakotay.
Emotional, spiritual or physical?

KM: She dares to ask this with my husband
on stage. Her question was, the attraction between Janeway and Chakotay,
was it emotional, was it spiritual, or was it ph-ph-ph-physical! Well certainly
it wasn’t physical, was it?

Q: Unacted upon…

KM: No because you know why? Because
when it’s really physical it’s acted upon. Don’t you think? How can anybody…
you’re all forgetting one very singular thing here which cannot be dismissed,
but everybody loves to dismiss it when they smell the possibility of sex.
I was the captain of a ship that was lost in the Delta Quadrant. Can you
imagine this captain (to Tim Hagan) you’ll pardon me darling – this is
what we do on Friday nights. Can you imagine me walking onto that bridge
with Commander Chakotay sitting. Red Alert. You, in the ready room!
No.

Q: What happened with Jennifer Lien,
and how was it working with her?

KM: He’s asking about Jennifer Lien and what
happened with her. I never quite completely… (to Tim Hagan) Are you leaving?
You are? To the audience: Isn’t he fine. It’s the first time in my
life I’ve been this happy. No question about it. Truly no question about
it. Anyway, what was it with Jennifer Lien? I don’t quite understand.
She left the show or she was let go to make room for Jeri Ryan, right.
That’s what they were doing. There was nothing about her behavior I think
that warranted it, and it was a devastating blow to me and to the rest
of the company, and it took us a long time to adjust to this decision.
You know once you fracture a family like that … But they came up with Seven
of Nine.

Q: How do you feel about directing?

KM: How do I feel myself personally
about directing. I’m not interested in it. I’m too subjective. I
don’t have enough of a spatial sense. You’ve got to really want to be in
control to do all that. No, I think I’m an actress honey and I’m
happy just being an actress. Yes sir?

Q: Did the writers ever listen to you, as
far as your character was concerned?

KM: Did the writers ever listen to me
about my character’s development? Yes they did, but as I said to
you earlier, I had to prove to them first my authority, my command.
You know, they’re not stupid. They were going to wait until the votes were
in and after about a season, I think, from their perspective, not from
mine, anyway, and when they were confident that I could run the ship, they
let me go more and more and as they did, I had unending questions for them.
And I’d jump on any discrepancies that did not suit me, I certainly would.
And I’d fight to the finish if I didn’t buy it, which a lot of times I
didn’t. I’m thinking about the hologram.

Q: ?

KM: You ask a difficult question… because
acts of generosity and charity. Do I remember any particular acts of generosity
in my life. Or are there charities to which I contribute. Of
course there are charities. Many charities. Alzheimer’s now. Domestic
violence has always interested me. Pediatric AIDS in Harlem which I did
with my pal Nancy Addison for years. Charity interests me greatly.
Acts of charity as a measurement of one’s goodness do not in and of themselves
interest me because then they are self serving. An act of charity
should come directly from the heart and I sort of ascribe to that old Catholic
notion that it’s best kept a secret.

Q: You said you knew nothing at all
about Star Trek or science fiction when you got the role. Now after seven
years how has your perception of Star Trek and science fiction changed?

KM: You have a very good voice, you
can really hear it, like a bell. How do I feel about science fiction
seven years after the fact having come into it knowing nothing? I’m
excited by science fiction. Or shall I say more accurately, I’m excited
by the roots of science fiction, which is science itself. I will
never again judge a genre until I have studied it. There is terrific
erudition behind this series. Gene Roddenberry was nobody’s fool.
Conceptually I think he was a genius. And after all, let’s not forget,
that he was talking about a time in the history of the world, and certainly
of space, where we have transcended all we are now in our nation struggling
with. He understood deeply that we must, we must have hope and at
the center of this hope there must be defined the human spirit. So
I have learnt that if there is anything endemic to science fiction, it
is in fact, curiously enough, the strength and the beauty of the human
spirit. And on that note, I have to thank you for your collective
human spirit for all that you have been to me. And let me assure you that
I enjoyed every minute of giving you the very best of Captain Kathryn Janeway
over the past seven years.Thank you.

Joe Motes thanks Kate for coming and said
“ I would like to request of Kate that the next time I invite her to another
convention that she comes as an act, both her & her husband.”